Sunrise
by GreenTea4062
Summary: Madara was given one more chance at life, to which he accepted ― albeit reluctantly. Still, being born as Uzumaki Naruto's elder brother was not what anyone in his position would expect, right?
1. Sunrise and Uzumaki Menma

Uzumaki Menma was looking over the balcony of his apartment, musing over the thing that, even to this day, still left him intrigued.

Konoha has changed with time.

The village, it was now bathed in the sunlight. A yellow, almost orange, glow that can be seen coming from the east enveloping Konoha. As usual, sunrise was breathtaking. He could admit that to himself.

He looked away for a moment and found different things.

Little birds chirping, cats meowing down below, messenger birds flying about, the Konoha Police officers patroling the streets, women shopping at the market to make today's breakfast, and many more things he could hate or appreciate about.

It was how life supposed to be without constant fighting. The sight was something that Hashirama probably would grin over and be excited about.

Shaking his head at the thought, he went back to see how the sun emerged to take over darkness.

The sun. It reminded him of Hashirama and Naruto. Their presences, their smiles, their convictions, their overwhelmingly optimistic opinions. It was no wonder, really, as both are Ashura's reincarnations.

The corner of his lips tugging upward involuntarily at that thought.

Menma breathed in the morning air. Fresh oxygen entered his lungs and he found no scent of blood in the vicinity of the neighbourhood he lived at.

He could say that in no way was he an early riser. But seeing the sunrise always gave him strength to live, and so he forced to see it every day unless he wanted to be a hikikomori.

He was, however, interrupted from having this moment of peace.

"NII-CHAN! BREAKFAST!"

Menma felt his eyebrows twitch involuntarily, frustration was all he could feel as the brat had ruined the moment.

"I've told you many times, Naruto! There's no need to shout!" He had almost roared, but that would make him a bigger hypocrite than he usually was.

"But, Nii-chan! I'm hungry!"

Damn Naruto for being an early riser. The brat could wake up this early without the help of an alarm clock.

"Feed yourself for once!"

"You said I can't touch the stove anymore!"

'_Yeah, because yesterday you had almost burn down this apartment when you tried to boil water to cook instant ramen,' _Menma thought inwardly, eyebrows twitching _again_.

Sighing, Menma stood up and stomped in to the apartment. Naruto was sitting at the edge of his bed. Giving the brat only a brief glance, he proceeded to the kitchen. After turning on the stove, he turned around to inspect the inside of the fridge.

"Tch, why am I bothering myself with this..." he muttered, eggs in hand.

"Eh, Nii-chan, you always say that and you still cook for the both of us!"

"That's because I need you alive," Menma said, letting out an exasperated huff. He planted one hand on his hip as he focused on Naruto. "Your inability to turn on the stove without it burning this building baffles me." Menma couldn't help it, he sent a disappointed look at the brat. Naruto was already three years old. The kid should be independent right now... maybe. He didn't really know. At what age a child should be independent, anyway?

Eyes prickling hot, Naruto ducked his head low. "Sorry, Nii-chan..." he mumbled out, his lips jutted out.

Menma grimaced. That reminded him of Hashirama's random bouts of depression.

"It's fine..." he said, quite loudly for Naruto to hear.

Honestly, it really was fine. But he needed Naruto to be independent. And that will start with the ability to feed oneself properly through means of cooking.

But first, he ought to teach Naruto how not to burn this apartment.


	2. A Dream, A Memory, A Promise

"Do you wish to atone, Uchiha Madara?"

Even with his sight robbed away from him, he knew who that was.

'_Atone? Atone for what, exactly?__'_ his mind, in blind grief and anger, screamed. But he wouldn't let himself voice his displeasure, what's with his 'plan' that was hijacked by Kaguya, at this person.

Because it was the Rikudō Sennin that was asking the question.

"Atone?" Madara prompted the Rikudō Sennin to elaborate.

"Yes. I will offer you a second, or perhaps one more chance for you to fix this world. This world that you considered 'a sick world'."

For a brief moment, Madara couldn't comprehend what just had been offered to him. Was the old man serious? To offer such a thing... what would the Rikudō Sennin gain from offering a second chance to him?

"Although I know you've made many mistakes, I recognize that I also have a part in all of this. Leaving the Stone Tablet vulnerable enough for Black Zetsu to corrupt my writings. Choosing only one of my sons as my successor, prompting Indra and Ashura's chakra to reincarnate into their descendants. I've come to realize what I did to Indra was unfair, even to Ashura..."

Indra, his and the Uchiha's ancestor. Ashura, Hashirama and the Senju's ancestor.

From what he gathered when he was surpressed by Kaguya, he and Sasuke were Indra's reincarnations. Hashirama and that Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki ― Naruto ― were Ashura's.

Well, he wasn't Indra's reincarnation anymore as now Sasuke was.

"... and furthermore, the Stone Tablet is only readable to those who possess the Sharingan, Mangekyō Sharingan... Indra's descendants. I have come to realize that one is a great mistake."

'_You've just realize that now?__'_

Madara couldn't help it, he snorted softly, not really trying to hide his amusement. If he had the strength to laugh, he would laugh and laugh until his face was red.

Closing his unseeing eyes to calm his mind, he contemplated.

All he wanted was peace for this world. Salvation for this world for all humanity. A world with only winners. Only peace. No war.

It was all too good to be true.

He failed. All of it was just Black Zetsu's plan in order to revive Kaguya. He had been deceived into believing that an utterly disgusting lie was a cure for this sick world.

"What... should I... do?" _to atone for being so foolish? For believing that the Tsuki no Me was a cure, a salvation for the humanity? For falling into Black Zetsu's deception?_ was left unsaid.

"You will go back. And you will be reborn. With your memories, in your disposal."

'_What!? __What kind of joke is that!?__'_

"What... do you... mean?"

Does the Rikudō Sennin even have such power to make him reborn? And to go back... probably meant that he was going to be reborn in the past. Surely, even to Rikudō Sennin, that kind of power was...

Madara felt his heartbeat getting weaker and weaker. He didn't have much time.

"Do you accept?"

Apparently, the old man knew that he was seconds away from dying. And it seemed that the Rikudō Sennin didn't see the need to explain further just what he had to do to atone.

Hah. He had nothing to lose. He wanted to see Izuna again, but he was not hurried after all of this.

As life was slipping away from his grasp for like, the third time, he gave his answer.

"I accept."

.

.

.

.

.

.

* * *

"Nii-chan? Nii-chan, wake up!"

"Ugh..."

Groaning, Menma pushed his face deeper into his pillow. He was _not _an early riser. He forced himself to wake up every morning to see the sunrise to have the will to live. When he had free time like today, he would take a nap until noon came and Naruto just kind of adjusted to that.

"Wake! Up! Nii-chan's promised to make Inarizushi _and _Kitsune Udon for lunch! Remember?"

"... Naruto, you're too close." Naruto's blue eyes was right in front of his face. His personal space. What the hell was personal space anyway. Wiping the saliva on the corner of his mouth, Menma grumbled, "What time is it?"

Blinking once at his elder brother, Naruto took one look at the clock and grinned before answering, "It's eleven in the morning."

Menma turned his head to see the clock.

"Huh. Good job, you finally can tell the time right."

Wide blue eyes sparkling at the compliment (?), Naruto beamed up at him. "I've been studying really hard, dattebayo!"

Menma smiled slightly at Naruto's enthusiasm as he dragged his body off the bed. "Keep up the work."

"I will!" Naruto chirped, trailing after him. "Oh, I almost forgot! There's this Chūnin guy that came this morning, 'ttebayo. He said Nii-chan has to be at the Hokage Office tomorrow morning..."

As he walked to the bathroom to wash his face, he mulled over what he had been dreaming in his sleep.

The dream, still in the corner of his mind, Menma covered his eyes with his palm.

'_I won't fail again. __I... promise that to you, Hashirama.__'_


	3. Uzumaki Naruto: Lunch and Playground

Hiding a grin with his bowl of Kitsune Udon, Naruto took in the sight of his brother who was quietly munching on the sweet Inarizushi.

Today's lunch was rare because his brother actually cook it from scratch. After Nii-chan graduated from the Academy after only attending for one year, meals were usually frozen foods or pre-made ones.

Upon graduating, his brother was like a madman in pursuit of something that after six months of graduating the Academy, his brother took the Chūnin Exams soon after with his team (he heard that Nii-chan convinced *coerced* the Jōnin leader of his own team to get the recommendation to participate in the Chūnin Exams).

His brother had been smiling more after the Chūnin Exams were over. Something about finally managed to see the fruition of Tobirama's moronic idea with his own eyes and glad that Hashirama wasn't here to see... his brother had said that time when Naruto had asked out of curiosity. His brother had a disdain for the event, but participating anyway because 'it was necessary'.

He knew the reason why his brother absolutely loathed the Chūnin Exams. Someone named Tobirama was the reason, and he knew that because his brother talked about it from time to time.

Nii-chan talked about how it was Hashirama that had the idea of making the Academy not Tobirama, about how can that moron freaking Tobirama founded the Chūnin Exams which implied that he was fine with the village's shinobi children dying by battling against each other and how the man was technically spitting on what was Hashirama's dream, ungrateful something... and many more.

Nii-chan was talkative when he wanted to, but usually only revolved around that Hashirama guy.

"How is it?"

Interrupted from his musing, Naruto blinked. His brother was asking about how the Kitsune Udon taste?

"It's delicious!" Naruto exclaimed, looking up from his bowl. He hadn't yet eaten the Inarizushi, but he was sure it would taste great.

Nii-chan smiled, or more like a smirk, before nodding to himself in probably a sense of satisfaction.

Usually, Nii-chan only cooked for breakfast and occasionally, dinner, so for Nii-chan to make lunch meant a lot to him.

Naruto learned to appreciate the meal by savoring and not gobbling everything's up.

"Thanks for the meal!"

His brother sighed, seemingly satisfied that he wasn't shoving his food down like a caveman.

"You're welcome."

His brother, who had finished eating at the same time, stood up and took the dishes.

"Nii-chan," Naruto called after drinking a glass of water. "Can I go to the playground?"

His brother contemplated for a little while before he nodded in approval. Prompting Naruto to bounce happily from his sitting position. Naruto was almost done wearing his sandals before he was interrupted by his brother who had just done the dishes.

"I'll go with you."

_'That's fast,'_ Naruto commented inside his mind.

He was not about to voice his surprise with his brother's speed at doing dishes, because it was just normal for his brother. Instead, he settled to give his brother a confused look.

After all, it was unusual for his brother to accompany him to the playground. Usually his brother would just say 'come home before the sun sets' and then he was free to go.

"Okay, Nii-chan, let's go." Naruto nodded and took his brother's hand, thinking that his brother must had a reason to go with him.

Definitely not because Nii-chan wanted to play at the playground with him. His brother was a newly promoted Chūnin, not someone who would go to the playground making friends, right?

* * *

They met someone on the way to the playground.

"Mikoto-san!" Naruto waved.

"Hello, Mikoto." Menma dipped his head in greeting. As usual, no honorific attached after the elder female's name and he didn't talk with keigo (honorific language).

"Oh, hello there, Menma-kun, Naruto-kun. Good afternoon." Mikoto smiled at the two. "Are you two off to the playground?"

"Naruto is," Menma said. He looked at the basket Mikoto was holding before asking, "Mikoto, did you just visit...?" Beside him, his brother quited down at the question, waiting for Mikoto's answer.

"She's still not waking up," Mikoto stated, her hold on the basket tightened.

Naruto frowned and looked to his elder brother, not sure how to respond to that.

Menma huffed as he folded his arms, agitated. "It's been three years, what do you expect?"

Mikoto politely smiled in response. "It's not wrong to have hope, Menma-kun."

"Tch. Let's go, Naruto."

"Bye, Mikoto-san!"

* * *

Arriving in the playground, Naruto was disappointed that no one was there. He was a second away from turning his back to just go home, but familiar voices prevented that.

"Sasuke, you need to socialize."

"But I just wanna train!"

"Now, now. We can train anytime, but we'd agreed to come here once a month."

"It's not fun!" the three-year-old complained.

"It'll be fun."

"Yeah, right..."

Beside him, Nii-chan palmed his face.

"Nice timing," Menma whispered under his breath.

It was Itachi and Sasuke.

* * *

Once upon a time, Naruto had called Itachi Pretty Eyes and Sasuke was Forehead Poke Lover. Only in his own head but still, it took everything not to burst into laughter at seeing the two of them together. He wanted to get along with them, especially Sasuke ― who was according to his brother was a child spoiled rotten by his elder brother Itachi.

Once, Naruto had asked what the Forehead Poke ― a favorite gesture Itachi used whenever Sasuke got too whiny ― was to his elder brother.

_"Heh. It's probably a gesture to distant himself from his own little brother. That, or he doesn't want to involve Sasuke with the problem..."_

_"Huh? What do you mean, Nii-chan?" Naruto looked up, confused._

_"It means that the Poke isn't a nice gesture that you think it was."_

_"Uh-huh..." _

The Poke to the Forehead wasn't an affectionate gesture but something about putting a distance? But... Sasuke was happy and he even pouted (cutely) everytime Itachi did it (even though he looked annoyed when his forehead was poked). Weird.

Were all older brothers weird like Itachi and Nii-chan?

"Ah! It's Naruto and Menma-san!" Sasuke pointed his finger at him. "Why are you here?"

Naruto glared, his right fist raised. "Are you saying we can't be here?!" Sasuke always had that ability to poke at his anger button even with just a single sentence.

Sasuke's face scrunched up, eyes big. "Heh? I didn't say that."

"Your tone suggests it, dattebayo!"

"And your tone suggests you wanna pick a fight with me!" Sasuke retorted, face to face with Naruto.

Itachi rested his hand on his brother's hair. "Now, Sasuke. Be nice."

Sasuke stomped his foot, eyes shining in disbelief. "Nii-san!" he protested.

Naruto heard a sigh coming from his brother (his brother loved to do that), and it made him pause from grabbing the collar of Sasuke's high-collared shirt.

"Naruto," his brother called out. "Just go ahead and play with Sasuke. Itachi, I need to speak with you."

Naruto hesitated for awhile before grabbing Sasuke's hand and dragging him to the swings, ignoring Sasuke's screams of 'let me go idiot' along the way.

_'So the reason Nii-chan went with me is Itachi huh...'_

* * *

**I'm not a native speaker. Forgive me for butchering the English language :(**

**-Edit-To Uchiha Arashi: Okay... I'll stop apologizing for my English and I'll try to make the chapters longer. Thank you for your reviews! **

**Oh yeah, I'm a little confused on who to pair Madara with. It'll be a long time before he even looks at someone in that way though.**

**Maybe Madara/Happiness? o.o** **jk**

**Edit: Because no one suggests a pairing, I've decided for the pairing myself. It's Madara/Sakura. **

**A review is always appreciated (I always read the review section). **


	4. Moments of Simplicity

It had been a while for him to make an effort into cooking.

After graduating the Academy, he had been putting the minimal effort possible to keep Naruto and himself healthy. The last thing on his mind was to think of a balanced meal for Naruto and himself when there was more important things than that.

For the last seven months since graduating, he had been occupied with many things. Things like; playing around doing D-rank and C-rank missions with Genin team, tolerating the Jōnin instructor, trying not to blow up every time the Sandaime opened his mouth, showing 'good patriotism' to the three advisers, juggling between caring and not caring about the Uchiha, the upcoming peace treaty with Kumogakure, et cetera et cetera.

There were many things he had to watch out living in this Hashirama's dream village. To change many upcoming events meant that he had to interact with people.

But two things stood in the way. Constantly interacting with people mentally exhausted him, plus he wasn't polite in the slightest. Sure he liked talking to people who would listen, but it was a fact that being around people psychologically drained Uchiha Madara. And as Uzumaki Menma, it didn't conveniently change.

Cracking his sore neck, he stopped his train of thoughts and looked at what he was doing. Lamenting his lack of social skills while cooking was distracting, indeed. Slowly stirring the pot with cooking chopstick, he thought back on the time he hadn't considered of ever touching cooking utensils. Then, he chose to have this life.

It's not like both Kushina and Minato were incredibly rich for him and Naruto to survive solely on takeaways and eating out. In order to save some money, he endured lowering himself learning to cook.

Although he became rather good at it, it didn't mean he enjoyed the task, but he could say he didn't dislike it either. However, being a decent cook had its consequences. For instance, now and then Naruto would pester him to cook proper homemade meals.

.

.

.

.

"Hey, Nii-chan, can you make Kitsune Udon from scratch? You see, Sasuke told me Itachi-san made him ―"

He was lying on the bed, hitai-ate still on his forehead, his mind begging to shut down yet was unable to.

After putting in some efforts in behaving civil in front of the Sandaime and the three elders who all reluctantly said 'yes' to his Chūnin promotion, he was dragged elsewhere for a 'celebration', all the while wanting to be home, kicking his feet up, and have a cup of tea. Once he was finally home, to his no surprise, he found that he wasn't able to relax as finding that Naruto had started a small fire in the kitchen by trying to turn the gas stove on had put his plan to a halt.

He wasn't annoyed, of course. It was his fault, in a way, as he had never warned the brat to stay away from using the gas stove. It was a miracle that it didn't happen sooner or they would have to relocate.

After he had Naruto cleaned the mess that the brat himself had started, probably bored out of his mind, the brat started to babble on and on about food while receiving his punishment; which was two hours sitting in seiza position.

He knew the brat was starving but he wasn't. Yet. His Jōnin instructor had 'generously' celebrated his Chūnin promotion with an all-you-can-eat barbecue. In addition to that, it was only three hours away from dinner time. Naruto had to wait for him to start making dinner.

But Naruto wasn't made of patience. Just like Obito, the brat had the ability to talk on and on without stopping until it gets on his nerves.

"― roasted duck, miso salmon, cabbage rolls ―"

"Why Kitsune Udon?" he interrupted, eyes blankly staring off at the ceilings. This life was utterly, mindboogingly boring for him to indulge a toddler. Said toddler was his younger brother, but still.

"Um, we have these marks on our cheeks, dattebayo! You know, they're like..."

"Like a cat's whiskers?" he provided, eyeing the squirming brat on the corner of his eye. It had been only a few minutes and it seemed that Naruto was already feeling a cramp for sitting on top of his own feet. The brat needed to sit more in that position, he noted.

Naruto enthusiastically shook his head. "Nuh-uh, wrong! These marks are like Kyūbi's!"

Kyūbi. So Naruto knew the existence of that particular bijū.

"Hmm, so?"

"Ugh, it's..." Naruto's voice trembled. "Shisui-no-niichan's missed my birthday. He promised to take us to eat Unajū, and he...!"

Unajū is kabayaki (boneless eel braised with mirin and soy sauce) and hot rice served on two-layered fancy box. It's expensive, a luxury dish for common people. Only those who were rich like the Senju back on the Warring States Era could afford eating it every day. Why didn't Shisui opt for the cheaper unagi-don?

"I've told you he's on a mission," he told, for what had been the fourth time that week. He sincerely missed the time when all Naruto could say was: yes, no, Nii-chan, and Shi-shi.

"Yeaa, I know." The brat went quiet for awhile, but then perked up. "That's why I want Kitsune Udon! My birthday is the day the giant Kyūbi-no-Yōko attacked, right? It's fitting! And Nii-chan's favorite Inarizushi, too! Foxes food!"

Kyūbi-no-yōko (Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit)...? What the ―

"What the ― who the hell taught you that?!" Aghast, Menma shot up from his bed, eyes wide, dark hair swaying as he faced Naruto. "Kyūbi isn't a yōko (spirit fox), it's a bijū (tailed beast)! Get it right!"

The boy tilted his head. "Huh? So Nii-chan's history textbook was wrong?"

Konoha was incompetent, that he knew since practically ages ago, but to think that this village's educational textbooks would tell lies so casually...

"Is that so. Remind me to dispose all those garbage." He ought to read those mind-numbing books first before recommending them for Naruto to read. Just another task he must do to educate the boy. Thrilling.

Naruto's brows furrowed. "Roger that...?"

Remembering in the first place why he was on his bed, once again Menma lay down ― snatching off the hitai-ate from his forehead as he did so as the weight of the metal irritated him more than usual.

"So, Nii-chan..."

He held back a sigh. It was apparent that Naruto was still hoping for him to make real food. Persistent like always.

Grunting as he was utterly, psychologically exhausted to deal with this bull, he shut his eyes close and said, "Naruto, I don't have the time. So, no."

"Aww, come on...!" whined Naruto.

"I said no and I mean _no_."

"But you're just lying on the bed now, 'ttebayo! You have time!"

He wasn't going to have his peace of mind with a hungry toddler nearby, was he?

"Nii-chan!"

"Tch, goddamn ― shut the hell up..." He could shut that brat up or ignore that the brat exist. He was only choosing not to.

"Sasuke said he eats lots and lots of Itachi-san's homecooked food when his parents aren't home! So, pretty please, Nii-chan?"

"No," he once again refused. Vehemently, Menma added, "For your information, I'm not Itachi. You can go bother him if you want."

"No, no, no! Nii-chan's better!"

He had decided; he was going to ignore the brat forever.

"I'm going to take a nap," he informed.

"Your cooking is better than Itachi-san's!"

Menma stopped thinking about sleep the moment he heard that.

His eyelids twitched. He was being compared to Itachi. _Itachi_. It's official, Naruto had gone suicidal.

"You're more difficult than Hashirama to handle," he finally gritted out.

It must be this body ― his body's fault that he wasn't tuning the boy out. Inhaling one sharp breath, he jumped out of the bed and slowly made his way to the kitchen ― thank goodness it wasn't destroyed beyond repair ― and started to prepare to make the udon noodles first.

"Fine, but it's for tomorrow's lunch," he conceded and with a snigger he added, "Let's see if you can endure with only fried rice for dinner, you spoiled little brat."

"_F-fried rice...?!_"

.

.

.

.

Yesterday reconfirmed that while Hashirama was good with kids, he was shit at dealing with them. Before, it was either he frightened them or he made them worship him somehow... nah, he had only managed to make them tremble with fear or make them scramble away, all the while pissing their pants. Now, he had Naruto as his younger brother and the brat wasn't scared of him. Might be because he was the one who raised the brat.

The point was, he was never going to be good with kids; except those who were related to him by blood.

* * *

"Naruto, it's ready!"

One excited jumping was heard from across the room. Their apartment had only one room, and what separated the kitchen and their bedroom was a shōji (sliding door made with paper). For two kids, the apartment was more than enough and the bill was 'generously' paid by the government. Being the deceased Yondaime's children sure had its benefits. Heh.

With an enormous smile on his face, Naruto plopped to sit on the tatami mat, waiting eagerly in front of the low dining table.

"Whoaa...! Looks yummy, Nii-chan!"

"Dig in."

"All right!"

Grabbing a pair of chopstick, Menma clapped his hand once with Naruto followed suit. Moments later, Naruto was already attacking his bowl. After muttering 'better worth it' under his breath, Menma went for the Udon. The noodles texture was just fine. Slurping the udon noodles, he paused to taste the broth, checking again for the second time since he tested it while it was being cooked.

_'__Not too s__alty_ _as expected_,_'_ he thought. _'__Mhmm, it doesn't taste too fishy__. The amount of dashi stock is just right,__'_ he added in his mind, oddly proud of it.

Only thanks to this body he was able to shove food down his throat without gagging. Uchiha Madara hadn't touched food for decades for the reason that Hashirama's cells he had injected into his wounds after the battle, had enabled him to survive without it.

He was able to finish the Udon in mere six minutes. This body ― his body had a rather large appetite, he noted. He was still in his growing phase.

His Kitsune Udon didn't compare to the one Kushina had made before Naruto was born. Must be because the Uzumaki had a different recipe or Kushina was simply a god-level at cooking.

His eyes went to the food he hadn't eaten yet; Inarizushi. This Inarizushi was Kushina's recipe just with his modifications. His favorite food tasted just fine with Kushina's recipe but it lacked something, so he added shiso leaves, steamed cabbages, and white miso for seasoning; Uchiha style. For sure, both he and Naruto needed a balanced diet to stay healthy.

Taking a bite of the Inarizushi, causing him to freeze as if time had stopped.

Something was wrong. Chewing slowly to find what went wrong ― it's too sweet. He had added too much white miso. But that's not a big problem, as he only needed to dip it in soy sauce ― soy sauce was salty ― to fight the disturbingly sweet taste. Inarizushi wasn't meant to be eaten with soy sauce but he needed to enjoy his favorite food with his preferred amount of sweetness.

Menma's shoulders sagged a bit, relieved that it wasn't a complete disaster. As he was almost done, he saw that Naruto's eyed him from behind his bowl, trying to be subtle. The boy was also focusing on chewing and savoring his food ― instead of gulping it down.

"How is it?" he asked, figuring it was obligatory to ask such thing.

Naruto beamed up at him. "It's delicious!" the boy exclaimed, a teeth-revealing grin on his face.

He hummed at the response. He could tell the brat was honest. Menma nodded to himself, content that Naruto wasn't complaining about the taste.

"Thanks for the meal!"

"You're welcome." He stood and starting collecting the used plates and bowls.

Just like that, lunch was finished. He let out a sigh, for the reason that the boy had eaten the Inarizushi faster than the Udon. Must be because Naruto had even more of a sweet-tooth than himself.

"Nii-chan, can I go to the playground?"

Really, Naruto didn't need to ask him, but it just became a routine for the boy to do so. After giving a sign of approval, he went to do the dishes, as Naruto bounced away to the entrance.

As he washed the dishes, he thought of his team. Team Three, the team he was forced to tolerate, was practically disbanded after his promotion to Chūnin. It was safe to say that he wouldn't be bothered by them on a daily basis anymore. That was why today he was prepared to just laying around his bed and read the modern picture book called 'manga'.

Then he recalled that he had to 'talk' with Shisui and Itachi.

The two brats had managed to attract the attention of one of the four people that would be erased in the near future. They were Uchiha, and Uchiha were his kin; family. He needed them alive, swallowing the air and not slayed by one of their own and choking on their own blood. The right course of action was that he should help them, regardless of their past betrayal to Uchiha Madara.

Uchiha Madara only knew of war, the pain of losing, and bloodshed in his childhood. The despair and the loneliness that plagued him in those days, when Izuna died and he realized no one in the clan would ever trusted him, were just a small matter ― his logical mind said.

Menma scoffed.

No longer was he defined by who he was as he was now _reborn_. But there were three wars after the shinobi village system was founded. As Uzumaki Menma, he witnessed the latest war which was the Third Great Ninja War.

As Uzumaki Menma, he wasn't supposed to witness a war. _Children_ weren't supposed to fight and die for a village that was made practically for them.

It was no secret that Madara ― Menma abhorred the idea of children, shinobi children fighting in war. He went hermit for the rest of his life after the battle with Hashirama solely because he hated this world ― a world of nothing but hatred and despair. But this village was the closest thing to peace, that he could acknowledge.

The entire village didn't know the Uchiha clan was being under surveillance ever since the Kyūbi's Attack, that even some Uchiha clan members didn't know. The Uchiha shinobi and the few Uchiha civilians that knew of the surveillance, tried their best to hide that they knew. One of the founding clan being watched by the government was definitely not a good sign. It would cause unrest and uproar amongst the clans inside the village if they knew that the government were wary of the Uchiha for seemingly no valid reason. If things stayed like this, in a few years from now, the Uchiha would surely rebel.

He snorted, feeling that it was a sad thing that the Uchiha were the police of the village, protectors of society; and yet they were being watched by their own government. It led to a question of; did Tobirama, the genius know-it-all, need to make the entire Uchiha clan its own home's enemy? Surely the man would have an inkling to what would happen to the Uchiha.

It wasn't just the Uchiha that was being under surveillance. While Naruto and him ― in his case, they stopped once he entered the Academy ― occasionally got their own share of 'watchers', it was only one to two people and they didn't have a seal branded on their tongues. Meaning; it was the Sandaime who assigned the 'watchers' or black-ops for Naruto and him, while a different individual assigned the ones for the Uchiha; particularly Shisui and Itachi.

He must let them know in advance, to prevent them from entering a different branch black-ops' territory.

Menma's lips curled, a small smile formed on his face. He knew that Itachi was not a sensor type, but the the brat was always sensitive to his surroundings; so it was necessary to warn the boy first. After all, it's Itachi's instincts that made the boy exceptionally different than his peers ― and the higher-ups were aware of that since Itachi had graduated.

It's a different case with Shisui. The boy was also not a sensory type, but had more of a logical approach that it showed in that the boy liked to generally ignore his gut instincts. No matter how many evidence screamed in his face, Kagami's descendant would just probably ignore the higher-ups' questionable actions.

It was ironic, really. Shisui had actually fought in the Third Great Ninja War, unlike Itachi who had only witnessed the skirmishes.

While he knew Shisui was outside of the village doing an important mission, Itachi wasn't. He was contemplating to just left them be, but...

Shaking his head, Menma resolved to ignore his doubts about helping them.

Opening the 'door' to his sensory ability, he checked for Itachi's chakra signature.

It seemed that Itachi was outside of the Uchiha District, walking alongside Sasuke to the direction of the village's playground.

What a fortuitous coincidence.

The dishes all cleaned up, he wiped his hands dry. He was just in time to catch Naruto who was about to exit the apartment.

"I'll go with you," he said to Naruto. It was only a short walk to the playground. He wouldn't be seeing unwanted stares and neither would Naruto.

"Okay, Nii-chan, let's go."

Naruto took his right hand and dragged him out of the apartment.

* * *

He was enjoying how empty streets were when Naruto spotted Mikoto on their way to the playground.

"Mikoto-san!" Naruto greeted the woman, waving as he did so.

Menma smiled, amusement showing. _Someone_ had been drilling manners into Naruto and it's not him.

"Hello, Mikoto." He allowed himself to briefly bow his head. Eyes registering the woman's existence but her face he ignored.

"Oh, hello there, Menma-kun, Naruto-kun. Good afternoon. Are you two off to the playground?"

"Naruto is," he replied. He looked briefly at the basket Mikoto was holding. "Mikoto, did you just visit...?"

"She's still not waking up," Mikoto said, still with a benign smile on her face, yet her posture was all but composed.

He exhaled, eyes half opened as he regarded the woman. Releasing Naruto's hold on his hand, he went to fold his arms in front of his chest.

"It's been three years, what do you expect?" he affirmed in annoyance.

The woman that had Izuna's face. This woman was the one who produced Sasuke, who also had Izuna's face. How could she be so pathetic? She was a jōnin ― a retired one but still she should know the fact that life was fragile.

"It's not wrong to have hope, Menma-kun."

This woman had the gall to assume he didn't have hope. _H__ilarious. _The woman would be right on the mark if she said that to him before all of this reborn affair.

"Tch." He walked pass Mikoto with his eyes straight ahead. The woman displeased him. Better to just ignore the woman. "Let's go, Naruto."

"Bye, Mikoto-san!"

* * *

Once they arrived at the playground, they stopped at the entrance, with Naruto tugging his wrist. No one was in the playground.

Figures. It was still lunch time, no parents in their right mind would let their children out to play.

"Sasuke, you need to socialize."

"But I just wanna train!"

"Now, now. We can train anytime, but we'd agreed to come here once a month."

"It's not fun!"

"It'll be fun."

"Yeah, right, that's what he says everytime..."

It was Sasuke and Itachi, coming from the opposite direction.

"Nice timing," he muttered, his palm on his face. Hearing their conversation and their approaching figures stirred some old forgotten memories of him and Izuna. Nostalgic.

"Ah! It's Naruto and Menma-san! Why are you here?"

Nevertheless of the nostalgia that their presence always evoked, he wasn't eager of seeing those two together. Somehow, every time he took a look at them he was slapped with everything he had lost. That, and he was reminded yet again that this village wasn't his dream, and it's not even Hashirama's original dream. His grip on Naruto's hand unintentionally tightened.

Letting his eyes on Sasuke, he instantly hid his disdain. The boy was Izuna's face number two. Trying to hide that whenever he saw that face it was not Sasuke who he saw, but his very much dead past life's younger brother, he forced himself to look away.

He wondered; why did Indra choose the boy? Uchiha Sasuke looked too much like a three-year-old Izuna only with thinner lips. It wasn't funny in the least. Obviously Indra didn't have a good sense of humor.

"Now, Sasuke. Be nice."

"Nii-san!"

Naruto and Sasuke started their childish bickering. Marvelous. Just like he had predicted; their dinamic matched his and Hashirama's. Well, almost, as the competitive one was Naruto instead of Sasuke.

Once Naruto was about to start a childish brawl, he sighed, effectively catching Naruto's attention. Motioning to Naruto to the direction of the playground, he said, "Naruto, just go ahead and play with Sasuke." Turning to Itachi, he scowled. "Itachi, I need to speak with you."

* * *

"Menma, it's been awhile," Itachi said in greeting.

In a way, they were raised together. Childhood friends, Kushina had said. Since they both became a Genin, they rarely met since their schedule overlapped.

"You've awaken the Sharingan." All it took was one look for him to recognize those newly awakened eyes. Uchiha Madara wasn't one to beat around the bush, and neither was Uzumaki Menma.

Itachi almost flinched under the intensity of his gaze. No, he wasn't taller than the boy, they were relatively at the same height. The brat was two years older than this body of his. Turning his gaze somewhere else, he waited for the brat to gather himself.

How soft of him, he internally scoffed. To think the day he would be considerate had finally came. Despite that, he knew why he had bothered to care about Itachi and to an extent, Sasuke as well.

Other than the name ― Itachi's namesake was Izuna, both names mean weasel ― this brat was the one who made the future Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan have the choku-tomoe (straight pattern), or the perfect Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan; something he, Uchiha Madara, had discovered only occured to those who are Ōtsutsuki Indra's chakra reincarnations. Itachi to Sasuke was like Izuna was to Madara. This brat was also the one who wiped the Uchiha clan in the future, according to a short story time from Black Zetsu when he was toying around with the Five Kage.

Menma passingly wondered how it feels to kill many of his own kin, for it took great resolve and efforts for Madara to put a sword through Sasuke's chest back then.

Itachi swept his gaze around before focusing on him. "Yes, I have."

"I assume that's why you have been under Shisui's care lately?"

Itachi shifted his weight on one foot. "Shisui talked about it?" he questioned.

Menma sighed. "No, he didn't."

Itachi smiled slightly, relief showing with the slight sag of his shoulders.

Menma drew in a breath. "You've caught the attention of one of the higher-ups," he uttered, while keeping the picture that they was just having a casual, friendly chat with each other. Unlike Naruto, Itachi and Sasuke had one watcher upon leaving the Uchiha district.

Itachi didn't even bat an eye at the news.

"The one who approached us on the graduation day," he continued.

It was Shimura Danzō, one of Hashirama's students that joined Tobirama's Team in the First War. Danzō, Black Zetsu had reported, was someone who had manipulated Uchiha Itachi to love this village above all else. The man also had used and killed children for his own gain, making an unauthorized black-ops organization with children as members and forced them to erase emotions.

Uchiha Madara had used children in the past to fulfill own agenda ― a short list that consisted of Obito, that lass Rin, and that brat Nagato ― but he didn't certainly try to excuse that his actions were for 'the good of the village'. Even when he was blinded by Black Zetsu's manipulations, he wasn't happy in the least to use children ― though that lass Rin and Obito's case was sort-of an entertainment for him. Until knowing that he himself was manipulated, that is.

Itachi kept his gaze on Sasuke. The brat looked a little alarmed but soon calmed himself down. It was likely that the brat knew of the fact in the first place.

"After graduating, you were set on learning the World History by travelling around Hi no Kuni, all by yourself. You have the Sandaime, and most of the higher-ups intrigued, I'd say, by your thinking capability that you'd displayed." _That you are the current clan head's eldest son adds another factor as to why you are being monitored, _went unsaid.

Examining the brat in front of him, Menma internally noted the forming creases around the brat's eyes, a result of stress most likely, deepening as he frowned. Much like Uchiha Madara who started to develop bags under his eyes, as soon as he inherited the clan head's position, Itachi had them after he witnessed the war.

"One particular organization is _interested_ to take you in," he said.

Itachi looked downwards before looking directly at Menma, something akin to resolve, or determination, brimming in his eyes.

"... Is it Root?" Itachi murmured with great caution.

Menma rested his hand on his hip, the corner of his lips tugged upward.

"Oh, you already know that. Not too surprising." Must be Shisui blabbering about that particular black-ops organization in Itachi's vicinity.

Itachi hesitantly nodded. "Shisui and I met with some members the other day."

Menma almost grinned. _'Not subtle there, at all, eh, Danzō?__'_ He almost wanted to pat the man in the back.

"It seems that I don't need to explain why you need to stay away from the man behind the organization."

"Why?" Itachi's browsbrows creased slightly.

"Oh, you're asking me...?"

Itachi briefly flickered his eyes on him, before returning his gaze on Sasuke who was playing tug-of-war with Naruto.

"Menma," the boy firmly called, asking him to just elaborate on why he should avoid the one who was in the power; the Sandaime's adviser who should be respected.

"Strange, a history enthusiast like you should have known the answer."

Itachi went completely silent after that, his gaze fell to the ground.

This kid was wary, but not of him. The evident being that Itachi didn't accuse him of spitting nonsense right away. On some level, the boy must had been made aware of how much of a bad news it was to catch Danzō's attention.

* * *

**Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites, guys! Reading the comment section had kept me motivated to post this chapter.**

**I thought maybe that originally it was Hashirama who had Shimura Danzō, Akimichi Torifu, and Uchiha Kagami as his students. Then after Hashirama died, Tobirama took them and made them work with his own team (Koharu, Homura, and Hiruzen). ****Idk, it was kinda implied (?) in the manga. **

**Menma (Madara) is five (would be six in December), Naruto and Sasuke are three years old, and Itachi is eight (his birthday is in June after all).**

**Academy students graduate at March and became Genin at April (spring in Japan). Chūnin Exams are held in mid Sept (six months after Academy Graduation). Promotion to Chūnin (from the Chūnin Exam) is in early October, if there wasn't a tournament (if there was one, the promotion will be in November). There is still field promotion, but Madara/Menma held interest in the Exams. Chūnin Exams are held twice a year, in March and September.**

**Just a question for those who like long chapters; how many words ideally should a chapter have****? **


	5. A Raindrop

Leaving Itachi to think by himself, he went past the playground to wander through the nearest forest, an Uzumaki swirl-patterned red parasol held in his left hand. Walking around with no destination in mind was one of his ― Madara's ― favorite pastimes.

Relishing the calming way the wind breezed around him with red, green, and yellow leaves falling along with the soft currents, seeing the sunlight filtered through the trees, overall he was enjoying the scenery.

As Menma trudged through the forest, he thought about how almost pointless it was telling Itachi, a young loyal shinobi of this village, to avoid one of its government officials. Furthermore, as Madara, no one had ever listened to him when he advised them ― even he sometimes didn't listen to himself.

"Come on, do you have a voice? We can't hear you."

It was uttered with a taunting, high-pitched voice and that caught his attention; making him stop in his track.

There, just directly in his line of sight, were three little girls cornering one girl. He narrowed his eyes as he regarded them, briefly wondering why they were here inside the forest and not like, somewhere else.

The girls seemed to be at the same age as Naruto, he assumed as he scanned their chakra. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were perfectly ordinary once he sensed their chakra. The potency and the amount of chakra they possessed, strongly suggest that they didn't come from a long line of shinobi ancestors.

One thing caught his attention, their hair colors which were the color of: purple, orange, pink, and red. They were unusual colors that if they were born in the Warring States Era ― where _almost_ everyone had dark hair in Hi no Kuni ― they would be regarded as foreigners for sure.

"I, um, can we play kagome-kagome ―"

"Oh, geez, really?" one of the girls, one with the purple hair, complained. "Hey, why did you bring her here, Fuki-chan? She's no fun. Can she even talk?"

The orange haired girl, who was standing beside the purple haired one, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Fuki-chan. She's so boring, all she does is looking down at, what? Her toes? What's so interesting about her toes, anyways?"

"She looked so lonely, so..." The redhead, Fuki, shrugged helplessly. "She said her parents are always on missions."

"She can talk to you about that but not to us?"

"Always on missions? Her family must be so poor," quipped the girl with the purple hair.

"Well, she lives in a tiny house..."

"Really?"

Deciding to watch them instead of letting his presence known, he sat on the ground. Propping his left hand on his left knee, Menma leaned on the tree next to him, all the while thinking what Hashirama would do if he watched the show with him.

It was just kids ― or in this case, little girls ― 'playing', but even a deaf person could tell they weren't friends. Hashirama would probably interfere and defend the one who was 'cornered', but surely he wasn't going to do such thing.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'll go ―" the pink haired girl started to speak up, only to be ignored once more.

"Hey, Kasumi, you've been staring at her. Say something," the purple haired girl, demanded.

The orange haired girl, Kasumi, grinned. "Ami... can you see it?"

"What?" the purple haired girl, that was apparently named Ami, asked.

"Her forehead!" Kasumi exclaimed with a lopsided grin. "It's so wide and looks funny!"

"E-eh?"

"It's hard not to stare at it all day, you know?"

"Wow, you're right!" Fuki gasped, closing in on the pink haired girl to brush the bangs that covered the girl's forehead aside.

"You're so smart, Kasumi! Hey, let me see..."

Menma blinked ― a few times in fact ― to be sure that he heard them right.

Wide forehead. The were now making fun of the pink haired girl's forehead.

Before he knew it, he chortled; pleasantly entertained by the silliest thing he had ever heard. His mirth made the four girls look at his direction, and soon, they were frozen in their place.

"Kyaa...!"

"Hiee, A-Ami-chan, Kasumi-chan..." Fuki stammered.

"A-Ami, i-is that a g-ghost?"

"I-I don't know! Is he...?"

"Ugh... you two, run! Come on, Sakura-chan!"

"Woa, wait!"

The pink haired girl cried out as the red haired girl named Fuki dragged her along. For some reason, the pink haired girl, Sakura, looked behind her as she ran, almost tumbling as she did so. Meeting her eyes for a brief moment, he sat there, staring blankly, trying to remember an almost-forgotten memory.

_"I'll be the diversion! You guys, follow me!"_

_"Wait...!" _

"I see," he muttered.

She was the one beside Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi that wasn't caught in the Eternal Tsukuyomi ― courtesy of Sasuke's Susano'o protecting them from the light that the moon generated. It might be because her existence was so insignificant to him that he didn't immediately recognize her.

But he should, as she was the one who possessed the same regeneration jutsu as Hashirama's descendant. He recalled that she was the one who had bravely or blindly ― with no strategy whatsoever ― charged at him, in the Future. The girl could heal instantaneously without weaving hand seals, and because of that, he understood well why she was throwing away any sense of self-preservation, as instant healing would and could make someone reckless. Case in point, himself. He had charged at the nine bijū without thinking of a strategy and that was because he could heal almost instantaneously.

Of course he knew what the Byakugō seal, the seal Hashirama's descendant and that pink haired girl had on their forehead, was; otherwise he would be lost when Hashirama's descendant started backtalking to him after pointing out her disgusting weaknesses.

Long time ago, Mito had graciously explained what the seal was to both him and Hashirama. The seal was an Uzumaki seal to conserve and restore chakra that requires near-perfect chakra control to have. From what he could gathered, Hashirama's descendant had made a further use of the seal; using it as a medium to keep her body young (his Rinnegan, at that time, could see the detailed seal patterns on her forehead that feeds on her chakra to maintain her youthful appearance) and to use it as a source to maintain what she called Ninpō: Sōzō Saisei - Byakugō no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth - Strength of a Hundred Jutsu), an instantaneous regeneration; something akin to what Hashirama was able to do.

Menma stood up, and resumed his walk.

Judging by the girl's ability to do the jutsu, it was likely that the girl was Hashirama's descendant's apprentice. One would think someone like her would defend herself even as a child; but she didn't. It was disappointing, really, that she was just a weak-willed girl with no backbone.

The girl repulsed him a little with the inability to stand up for herself, but he was reminded quickly that the girl was still young ― still a child. It made him wonder if Hashirama's descendant a miracle worker for training that girl into the front-line medical shinobi that she was in Future.

Something cold came falling from above and his thought process halted. He knew it was a drop of water trickling down his nose, which compelled him to look up.

It was droplets of water. They were dripping down, one by one, hitting the red parasol he had on hand and before he knew it, it was drizzling.

"Rain, eh," he whispered, holding out his hand to lett raindrops fall onto his palm.

Although it currently rained, the sky was still a clear blue. The smell of the earth, the sounds of the pouring rain, the sight of it; he relished in all of those. Rain, sometimes can be predicted sometimes not. The phenomenon was natural, and this was an occurrence that many took for granted.

But to his past self ― Madara ― rain was something he wasn't able to witness nor feel in his years of hiding.

* * *

"There you are."

Hoisting Naruto by the collar of his white shirt, Menma stared directly at the brat's eyes, almost wanting bash the brat's head in when he found it was the ramen shop Kushina had frequented that Naruto had gone to for a shelter.

Naruto laughed soundlessly, sheepish, his teeth showing and all. He smelled like miso; as devouring three bowls of ramen tended to do that to a person.

A few seconds in and Naruto struggled against his hold. "N-nii-chan... can't breathe..." Naruto wheezed as he was being suspended in the air longer than he could handle.

Taking pity on him, Menma roughly placed the boy on the stool. "You just had lunch and here you are eating ramen," he stated, face deadpanned.

Naruto coughed. He looked away, pulling a face as he did so. "It can't be helped, all right? It suddenly rained, and, um, this shop just smelled so good, 'ttebayo."

"Good grief," Menma uttered, rolling his eyes. "You know, this means no dinner for you, right?"

"Hmph." Naruto sniffed but wisely chose not to say anything.

"Oh, it's you, Menma-kun! Otō-san, Otō-san! Menma-kun came!"

Menma bit back a groan. He should had known better than to enter the shop.

"Oh, Menma!" Teuchi greeted him before returning to serve another customer.

"How are you?" Ayame asked him, eyes focusing solely on him.

Eyeing her with with a look of resignation, Menma answered, "Fine."

"It's been a while," Ayame exclaimed happily from behind the counter, face shining and all that. Like always, her behavior was too friendly, too bright. "What are you going to order today, Menma-kun?"

Menma raised one hand and slammed on the counter, leaving money to pay for the ramen. "I'm just fetching this brat here," he said as he foist Naruto off of the stool.

"Eh?" Ayame blinked, confusion clearly written on her face.

Feeling like he had to hurry, Menma urged, "Come on, Naruto."

"Ehhh... can I have one more bowl?"

He glared down at Naruto. "You are done eating."

"Wait, Menma-kun ―"

Paying no attention to the panicked Ayame in front of him, he grabbed Naruto's hand and lead him out of the shop. His red parasol was doing the job of protecting both him and Naruto from the rain once they were out of the shop.

"H-hey, where are we going?" Naruto voiced out, once they passed over their apartment. "Are we going to train?"

"It's raining," he said, but didn't deign the brat with an answer.

"Um, but that didn't stop us from training before?"

He sent the brat a look to silence him. "You'll know when we get there."

Naruto looked away and mumbled out, "Okay."

* * *

"It's cold!" Naruto bellowed, head shaking like a dog as he shivered. He was unlucky that a sudden cold torrent of rain hit him just before they entered the hospital. "S-so, Nii-chan. Are we going to see ― "

"Ah, Menma."

Menma let out a breath at the newcomer's voice and shoved Naruto behind him. "It's you. What are you doing here?" It was just yesterday he met with the 'older' Chūnin; Iruka's promotion to Chūnin coincided with his own.

"I was just visiting a friend of mine," Iruka informed with a small, polite smile. "You're visiting Kushina-shishō, right? Are you alone?"

Behind him, Naruto poked his head out, letting his presence known.

Iruka grimaced, subtly. Bringing his hands up in an awkward gesture, he resorted to chuckle awkwardly. He was like that for awhile before turning his back on them.

"Haha." Iruka showed them his widest smile. "Gotta go! See you later, Menma!"

"Weird," Naruto commented, brows furrowed.

"Ignore that," he said. And then he continued onward to Kushina's hospital room with Naruto in tow.

* * *

"Her hair is so long."

"Yes."

"Should they cut it?"

"No."

"Can we cut it?"

"No."

"Kaa-chan's really is beautiful, isn't she?"

He paused before replying with a short 'yes'.

For the countless times Menma had observed Naruto, as they watched Kushina quietly from the side of her bed, this was the second time Naruto wasn't shedding tears or babbling endlessly. Maybe three years of age was the start for a child to start maturing, he mused briefly.

After some time of only gazing at Kushina, Naruto got uncomfortable and finally asked to go home. As always, Menma complied on the basis that staring at a comatose parent wasn't something a child should be forced to.

They exited Kushina's room, and it was at few meters away from Kushina's room that they met with an acquaintance.

"Hi there, Naruto-kun, visiting your mother, I see." Kabuto greeted, his right hand went to fix the position of his glasses. "You have your brother to accompany you this time."

"Kabuto-san, thank you for taking care of our mother," Naruto said, bowing deeply.

Menma stood there, impassive, before taking Naruto's hand and continuing on as if he didn't see the silver haired medic.

As they went to their seperate ways, Kabuto slipped a piece of paper into his hand.

Menma repressed the urge to form a smile while he pocketed the paper.

* * *

"Hungry..."

"Just go to sleep, already."

"But... hungry..."

"There's breakfast tomorrow."

"Oh... that's right... breakfast..."

"Sleep."

"Ngh... 'kay..."

Once he heard no sound coming from the bed next to him, Menma smiled in relief. Free to think in silence, he went to ponder about mostly anything he could think of.

After the Kyūbi's Attack, someone that must be one of Tobirama's students, had announced that a newborn was the Kyūbi's jailer. Someone in the Konoha's upper echelon which consisted of three people and the Sandaime. With that information out in the open, of course the villagers asked for the name; and Uzumaki Naruto was the answer. The Sandaime didn't put a stop to the announcement, instead he added that Uzumaki Naruto was a hero and that the Yondaime, on his dying bed, wished for the child to be seen as such.

The only widely recognized Uzumaki in the village was Uzumaki Kushina. A few remembered Kushina going out often with the Yondaime. While her marriage with Minato wasn't made public ― like many paranoid and normal Shinobi were with their personal life ― some remembered that Kushina had a child and some put two and two together that Kushina was married to Minato.

There were no indications that Kushina and Minato were in a relationship, really. The noble clans wouldn't take the name of an outsider, and the Uzumaki was a prominent clan in Uzu no Kuni (and Uzushiogakure, but the village was just a copy of Konohagakure like the other shinobi villages were so he didn't, or rather, Uchiha Madara didn't acknowledge them). Kushina's clan name didn't change after she was married for the reason Konoha treated the Uzumaki as a foreign, noble clan. Just like Mito who didn't, or wouldn't, change her name into 'Senju Mito'.

Eyes half-lidded and lips forming into a deep scowl, Menma remembered the last time she was conscious. Giving birth and after that having the full Kyūbi ripped out of her was different than Naruto who had half of the Kyūbi ripped out and then having another half back. Only thanks to Kushina's unique chakra ― that was unique even by Uzumaki's standards ― that she survived the whole ordeal.

Kushina's smiles ― even after her husband died in front of her eyes ― were so earnest, he almost asked her if she's just high on adrenaline before she closed her eyes and went into a coma. For him who had lost everyone dear to him in his past life, Kushina was just bizarre. She had lost her parents, her who-knows-how-many-siblings, her clan, her village, her country... her husband... the list went on, yet she didn't break.

No one should be able to shrug off the pain of losing that easily. Maybe being in a coma was sort-of a blessing for Kushina; for she surely needed a break from this hell of a world.

Kushina believed in the Will of Fire; a belief that has numerous interpretations, which Kushina interpreted as 'love and family above all else'. In that sense, she was different than Minato ― who was more dedicated to protect Konoha in its entirety, rather than just his family. That was why Kushina couldn't become Hokage, as she simply was not capable of handling the title ― just like he was. Uchiha and Uzumaki do resemble each other in that 'blood family comes first' mentality.

And then he thought of his situation. Ever since he woke up in this reality, he had been referring to himself ― even in his thought process ― as 'Menma'. Every now and then he would slip up, but he was trying. After all, a name is a gift, a blessing from parents to their child.

He was reborn ― not invading a body like a parasite ― and it meant that this was a fresh chance for him. He wouldn't throw away both names he had been gifted with. He was both Uchiha Madara and Uzumaki Menma, and Kushina always reminded him of that.

Menma closed his eyes, letting himself fall into slumber.

* * *

The next morning he woke up as early as usual. He was able to appreciate the sunrise without interruption, with Naruto deciding to sleep longer.

Preparing breakfast was like a chore to him. In twenty minutes, breakfast was already done and set on the low dining table. Filling two cups with hot tea, he bent down, placing them on the dining table.

"Ahhh, I'm hungry!"

Menma unheeded the unholy screech. As he untied the white apron he was wearing, he said, "Can you say something else in the morning?"

"Oh, Nii-chan, good morning."

"Yes, good morning."

The brat flashed him an apologetic smile. "I'm just so hungry, dattebayo..."

He held Naruto's right hand up to prevent him from sitting down. "Go wash your face first."

"Ah, right!" Naruto exclaimed before dashing to the bathroom.

Their breakfast, which consisted of a bowl of cooked rice, instant miso soup, sweet rolled dashi omelette, store-bought natto, boiled spinach with soy sauce sprinkled with katsuobushi, tofu cooked with meat and sukiyaki sauce for him and octopus-shaped sausages for Naruto.

Menma didn't exactly fancy sausages; as they're foreign food and didn't exist back then when Konoha was first founded. The sausages were a compromise for Naruto to eat the spinach (although Naruto could eat vegetables if they're cooked well, Naruto would avoid eating vegetables if he could get away with it).

"I don't understand Sasuke. He said natto is yucky and sweets are disgusting. And he's weirdly proud about it," Naruto started the morning with Sasuke as a topic of conversation while Menma was thoroughly stirring the natto in his bowl of hot rice. "Sure Natto smells bad, but it's kinda yummy! And it's healthy, right, Nii-chan?"

"There must be something wrong with his taste buds," Menma commented.

Natto was an acquired taste, hence why he understood the boy's dislike of it. He liked sweets just fine though. Heck, his favorite food was Inarizushi ― which he preferred to be mildly sweet.

"Yeah, Sasuke is lame, dattebayo. Like, he likes his goshira green. Green! I told him purple or orange are so much better but he won't listen," Naruto 'sagely' crossed his arms over his chest, his face upturned with a sneer. "And, and! Sasuke thinks that Batterīman Kenji episode thirty-five isn't hilariously funny! He thinks it's horrible!"

Goshira, he didn't have much idea of what they are, but they must be some kind of a toy. But Batterīman Kenji... he knew that atrocity. The animated show was the reason he had almost say his goodbye to the moving-pictures box called television for good.

"Are you friends with Sasuke?"

"Our mothers are friends, right?"

"Doesn't mean you have to be friends with him."

"R-right..." mumbled Naruto, putting his chopsticks down. "I don't know why, I just... I feel I have to be friends with him?"

"Heh." Smiling, Menma resumed eating, pretending he didn't notice the bewildered stare that Naruto sent in his way.

It wasn't much of a surprise that Naruto resembled Hashirama, with him approaching Sasuke instead of the other way around. Unlike his Future counterpart, this Naruto was calmer and more manageable ― and he could say that it was almost like dealing with Hashirama. Yet, they were different enough for him to not confuse Naruto for Hashirama.

Surprisingly, the boy turned out to be a sensor type. Hashirama was one but his talent in it was pathetic compared to his own (sage mode is superior to any type of sensing abilities anyway ― according to Hashirama and the time when he absorbed Hashirama's sage chakra confirmed it) but Naruto would be descent if he trained the skill.

* * *

Ready to leave, with a backpack on his back, Menma turned to look at Naruto directly in the eye.

"Study well. Read the books I recommended and write your thoughts about the books. Do not slack off writing only in Hiragana and Katakana, use more Kanji. Also, write the Kanji exactly as the stroke order. If you're bored, you can read manga or watch the television."

Uchiha were a clan that prided themselves on education. They wouldn't be learning ninjutsu until they were six, but from the early age of two, many would be learning how to read; starting with Hiragana and Katakana.

After pausing for a moment, Menma added, "Take a walk in the morning and meditate to feel your chakra, you know the drill. Oh, do eat out or buy some food in the convenience store down the street ― I've put some money in your... Gama-chan wallet. I want this apartment standing, so do not use the stove or the microwave oven. Always take a bath after dinner, watch out when filling the tub with hot water and don't waste too much soap ― the stuff is expensive. And... that's it. You at least can use the water heater without burning this apartment down."

Overwhelmed by the onslaught of words, Naruto staggered back. "Ugh... how long are the mission gonna be, Nii-chan?" he asked, voice timid and laced with worry.

He had filed the mission request with one week as the estimate duration. He had nothing to worry; Naruto was safe from the least tolerant villagers' treatments as the apartment they lived in was located in a rather good neighbourhood.

"One week, mostly," Menma responded.

Pouting, Naruto crossed his arms and mumbled out, "That's forever."

"Go visit your friends' house if you get too lonely, I don't care. Just don't destroy the apartment, unless you want to sleep without a roof over your head."

Naruto eyes went to the side, still pouting, he said, "Can you leave a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone), Nii-chan? I want to eat more of your cooking, at least for today's lunch..."

Menma closed his eyes for a second before he exhaled out a breath.

He had bent over backwards for Naruto than he could count, he reminded himself. He knew that he should be more stern, but in the face of this child... most of the time, he was unable to do so.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not your personal caretaker. If you want to eat homemade meal, just visit your aunt, you know the way to her house," he said, all the while avoiding to look at Naruto's face.

"... right. Got it."

"I'll be back before you know it," Menma assured, more for Naruto's sake than his own. "I'm off."

He was more than ready to take off but he was stopped by Naruto tugging the back of his shirt.

"Take care," said Naruto, with his head down and his eyes looking to the side.

Menma hesitated for a second before ruffling Naruto's hair, making the boy to squirm. "Ah."

After one last look over his shoulder, Menma jumped off of the their apartment's balcony. He then set off to his destination; the Hokage Tower.

* * *

**-Fuki (the redhead) and Kasumi (the afro-styled orange haired with shuriken-shaped hairpin) are Ami's friends (?). The names are from the first databook. Yes, they are canon and also appears in the anime-**

**I've said this before: t****hank you for the favorites, follows, and reviews, guys! I'm gonna be honest that I ****wasn't expecting readers**** because the first chapter was just a muse that wouldn't leave me alone. That, and this story isn't beta'd. So thank you for the support! **

**Fun fact about Madara: he likes moonlight more than sunlight; stated so in the fourth databook Jin no sho (I think it isn't related to his Tsuki-no-Me Plan). I came to find that fact from the Japanese fandom blog/threads that likes to make fun of him lolol.**

**To ollia: ****Thank ****you for your reviews****! I've never thought that this story would receive such long and thoughtful reviews because... well, this story is spontaneously made, I'm afraid. No long detailed planning and all that until I wrote a draft worth of only eight-nine chapters that I thought of a plot and an ending. Because of that, I posted chapter three, which is in Naruto's point of view, without much thoughts at all ― which made chapter four a bit redundant, yet I can't seem to bring myself to delete chapter thr****ee (what to do what to do)****. To tell you the truth, I'm just someone that is so frustrated of the lack of reborn/reincarnated Madara fics that I just vent my frustration into writing this stor****y... oppss. **

**About the pairing: I've decided on Sakura because I like how human she is in the show. I think the reason why many hated her is because she feels utterly real ― ignorant yet book-smart, impulsive yet cautious, aggressive yet timid, vain yet thoughtful, mean yet kind, etc. I don't see her as this 'perfect healing queen/goddess' that the majority tumblr pro-Sakura seems to think she was (well to each their own); in fact far from that, I actually like the horrible mess of a character she is lol (tho I don't like how Kishimoto regressed her i****nto _that_ from chapter 693 and so on, it is in his authority to potray Sakura like that as she, after all, is his character so... yeah). She brings in realism into the show. Other than Sakura, I can't think of anyone else that Madara/Menma would um... accept?**

**Anyway, just let me know if I'm doing any mistakes, be that grammar or anything. Oh, give me a feedback, a reaction, whatever you want! A review is always much appreciated. **

* * *

**Omake/Extra/Bonus: One**

Madara had made it a self-imposed mission to eavesdrop on Hashirama whenever possible. Since knowing Tobirama's stance regarding his clan and that Hashirama was easily silenced by Tobirama's 'logic', he became wary of their intentions. It wasn't something he was proud of ― spying on Hashirama made his stomach churn and twist with shame and distress ― but for Izuna, he felt obliged to do this.

It helped that, although his skills in sensing was arguably inferior to Tobirama's, he could quench his chakra into nothing, making him perfect for spying on a sensor-type ninja.

"Hashirama-dono," Uzumaki Mito, the woman who married Hashirama before Konoha was built, spoke, "why are you _friends_ with someone like him?"

There was a short pause before he heard Hashirama said, "Him, who?"

"Madara-dono."

"Oh, Madara?"

"Why are you associating yourself with him?"

"Hmm..."

"I'm sorry to say this, Hashirama-dono, but he's dreary."

"Dreary, you say?"

"All he does is skulking around like a ghost. And I dare say he is not a pleasant company to be with."

Madara held himself in, as he had almost clicked his tongue at that last remark.

The nerve of that woman; he had escorted the woman to Uzu no Kuni a while go for her annual visit to her homeland, and insults were what he got?

"Furthermore, he's an Uchiha. As such, he isn't one to be trusted," Mito continued.

Madara closed his eyes, clenching his teeth to contain himself.

It wasn't surprising in the least that someone would judge him solely by the clan he hailed from. It wasn't even surprising that one would just judge him based on mere _rumors_. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, he believed that. Still, he wasn't expecting Mito, the representative of the 'neutral' Uzumaki clan, to utter her honest opinion so carelessly.

Allowing himself to sneer, he passingly thought that she might be an accurate example of what a female version of Tobirama could be.

"Madara is fond of taking walks and his presence is oftentimes went unnoticed, so that's... skulking, I guess. But a ghost? He's not wearing all white," Hashirama said, sounding utterly bewildered and completely missing the point. Then, he inquired, "Mito, what brings you to question my relationship with Madara? Did he say something inappropriate to you?"

He certainly did not say anything inappropriate to Mito. He barely even talked to her.

"You, Senju Hashirama, is my husband. I need you to carefully choose the people you surround yourself with."

"Huh..."

"Surely you are not blind of his unsatisfactory traits."

He stilled. His unsatisfactory traits? Did she mean; his faults? If that's the case, she could be assured that Hashirama was not blind to his faults ― far from it. Hashirama was the only person, other than Izuna, he was able to be himself.

"Yeah, sure Madara is uncompromising, overwhelmingly competitive, likes making excuses, and he's really quick to assume on things..."

It was _really_ hard not to just bust down that door open and simply burst in ― but that would reveal that he was spying on Hashirama, and that would automatically ruin the fragile trust between him and Hashirama.

"But you, know? He won't be Madara without all his 'faults'!"

What did Hashirama just say now?

"Hashirama-dono, you..."

"Madara is my sworn friend and he is truly like a brother to me. That's why, Mito..."

A sound interrupted Hashirama from continuing his 'speech'.

It was a giggle. Mito was laughing, it seemed.

"I understand, Hashirama-dono. I was curious as you two are a rather rare phenomenon."

"Mito, care to elaborate?" Hashirama asked, sounding serious for once.

"Just the other day when you were fooling around with him, I witnessed that you can synchronize your jutsu, even your chakra, _perfectly_ with Madara-dono. It also came to my attention that you and your brother, Tobirama, cannot do so."

So that was why. Since around one week ago, Tobirama had been giving him those looks for reasons unknown to him.

"It should be impossible; both of your chakra are fundamentally different, the opposites, even. Then, I thought of a theory, a possibility, that Madara-dono is..."

He abruptly turned, not bothering to hear the rest of their conversation. What he had heard was enough for his doubts about Hashirama's stance regarding him lessening for a little.

With a smile that was concealed by the high-collar of his attire, Madara saw the edges of his vision brightened as he trudged away.


End file.
